Chapter Six: Emmett

It was Emmett who sat across my desk now, and I felt a return of the uneasiness I had felt around him when he and his family first started school here. I wondered if Jasper was outside the room again; if he would defend me even against his own brother. One thing I had noticed about the Cullens was that they seemed to stick together.

But then, I was being ridiculous, surely; Emmett had been protecting me from Todd Evans as much as Jasper had. I knew Todd's accusation had to be false; this meeting was just a formality.

"So, what's up, McPherson?" Emmett pushed as I sat without saying anything.

I swallowed and licked my dry lips. "Todd Evans said you were going around making death threats," I admitted quietly.

Emmett shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "Guess I did," he admitted. "It was just the one, though."

"Todd?" I questioned.

"Yeah."

"What happened, exactly?"

He shrugged again. "Todd had my sister and the other girl alone by the lockers. He'd already put the other girl bleeding on the floor; I just told him he'd better not hurt my sister because no one touches her and lives."

I relaxed; so it had just been the words of an overzealous older brother. "I can appreciate you wanting to protect your sister, Emmett, but you need to be more careful about what you say. Words like that can get you in serious trouble if people take them literally."

"I meant them literally," he said, his voice low and dangerous.

I swallowed again. "I'll pretend I didn't hear you say that, Emmett," I said glibly. "Just…don't be so literal next time."

He shrugged. "Well, I thought it was more fair to warn him first, but whatever."

I sighed wearily. "Just go, Emmett."

oOo

Emmett

I glared at Jasper as we walked down the hall. "You weren't much help back there."

He gave me a slight smile. "You didn't heed help; you were doing a fine job of digging yourself deeper on your own."

"Oh, thanks a lot!"

"And was it really necessary to threaten to kill him in the first place, Em?"

I stared at him. "Jazz, we're talking about Alice here. What would you do?"

His eyes hardened. "I wouldn't waste time with warnings…if someone was going to hurt her. The way she tells it, she only called for backup because it wouldn't look right for her to be able to fight him."

"So you wouldn't have threatened him," I said flatly. Frankly, I didn't believe a word of it; my Rose could defend herself, but I'd still kill anyone who planned to hurt her. 'Sides, it had really been Jasper I was warning Todd about, not me.

"Not with death," Jasper clarified. "I did threaten to break his wrist for calling her a liar."

I chuckled. "And gave him a healthy dose of fear, too, I'll wager."

Jasper stared ahead, his eyes shadowed. "I don't see how he could hurt a little girl like that…without a twinge of remorse. It…doesn't seem right for humans to be the 'bad guys.'"

I punched his shoulder lightly. "Hey, if that makes us the good guys, I'll take it. You know, we could put Superman out of business."

Jasper smiled briefly, but I knew he couldn't accept the situation so easily. For me, it was over; time to move on to something else. A grin spread across my face as I spotted Nessie at the lunch table. That boy was sitting just a little too close to her…and Edward hadn't gotten down from his class yet. No more death threats…but a little "persuasion" from Uncle Emmett wouldn't hurt anything…

"Hey. You bothering my sister?"

THE END

A/N: No, I didn't mess up the relationships in the last scene. In his mental narration Emmett uses their real relationship; out loud he uses the "cover story" one. Barbie

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